Family: Milkweed (Asclepiadaceae)

Description: Leggy, herbaceous perennial with opposite, lanceolate leaves that exude milky sap when broken. The leaves range from 2-6 inches long and 3/4 to 1 1/2 inches wide. The 1/2 inch flowers are in flat topped clusters and are usually 2-toned orange/yellow but some plants produce all yellow flowers.

Blooms: All year

Found: Mostly in distrubed soils along roadsides and canal banks but also along hammock margins and pinelands of central and southern Florida. Native to tropical America.

Comment: This species is widely cultivated in Florida by butterfly enthusiasts as a nectar source and larval host plant for Monarch and Queen butterflies. Eating the leaves makes the larvae poisonous and distasteful to birds.